Gov. Charlie Crist signed two bills into law in Fort Lauderdale this afternoon aimed at protecting and benefiting foster care children.

Crist signed Senate Bills 126 and 1128, both of which will take effect July 1, during an afternoon conference at the Children's Services Council of Broward County in Fort Lauderdale.

Crist credited the approval of the two bills, in part, to members of Florida Youth Shine, a statewide advocacy group that specializes in foster care and child welfare issues.

"You're great advocates, you truly are," he told Florida Youth Shine members in the audience of more than 40, which also included state and local government officials.

Senate Bill 126 calls for providing foster children greater access to the records detailing their family, medical and foster care history.

"Teens will finally have the needed access to the records they deserve," said State Rep. Ari Porth, D-Coral Springs, who co-sponsored the bill.

Senate Bill 1128, sponsored by Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston, will aim to curb foster children from dropping out of high school and help speed up school enrollment, which can be delayed in many cases because children's school and immunization records aren't immediately available due to children's transient situations.

The law will provide the state's disabled foster care children a surrogate parent appointed by a school district superintendent or dependency court to oversee educational decisions and protect children's rights.

A surrogate parent would help guide children's future, Rich said, to ensure disabled foster care children don't endure further hardships "as they age out of the foster care system at the age of 18," Rich said.